Track45 – composed of Mississippi siblings, Jenna, Benjamin, and KK – welcome us into their ‘Small Town’ on their debut EP release. Madeline Christy reviews their debut project.
The trio stem from the home of the father of country music – Jimmy Rodgers, however the legendary singer is in no relation to how the band found their unique band name (sorry Jimmy!). The siblings took their name from their railroad town of Meridian, Mississippi – the Highway 45 south, border-to-border route drives straight through. The likes of Jimmy Rodgers, Hank Williams and other second generation cowboys influenced the group in their early days – Williams’ honky tonkin’ Jambalaya (on the bayou) was the first song that the group learnt as children in preparation for their debut performance at a local nursing home. The Cajun dish song’s kinfolk grain is crafted into the EP’s opening track ‘Come On In‘.
In the southern hospitality, warm opening track, the trio walk us through their Meridian bluegrass backyard. ‘We write what we know…and that’s all we can do‘ says KK, the youngest of the virtuoso siblings. Within the first ten seconds of the track you’ll be hook, line, and sunk on the group’s lucid harmonies. The band play almost each and every instrument on the southern pop track – Jenna plays the guitar, Ben plays bass, cello, and mandolin, while KK plays the violin.
‘Me + You‘ takes on a more swampy groove. The rose-tinted song tells of a love story that as makes as much sense as ‘three chords and the truth’. The cosy number is co-written with Hunter Phelps (Florida Georgia Line’s ‘I Wish You Were On It‘) and Charlie Handsome (Diplo’s ‘Heartless‘). Two thirds of the EP have been so heavily focused upon living in the moment and owning one’s truth, which is contrasted with the EP’s closing track entitled ‘Met Me Now‘. To close the body of work with a ballad that expresses a sense of wanting to rewind is very fitting (as it’s what I found myself doing after listening to the entire EP). Though the closing track is full of regretful lyrics, fulgent guitar, and sheeny vocals from KK – it’s still as bright and full of potential as the new group’s journey on the country charts.
